To Light a Thousand Lamps - The Theosophical Society

The Two Paths / 133
and a corpse; and finally, a recluse, one who had renounced
the world. He was profoundly shaken. A deep compassion
filled his being; he would seek out the cause and cure of
human sorrow. He left home, a beautiful wife and infant
son, and all material comforts for begging bowl and monk’s
robe. For six years he experimented unwisely, undergoing
the most stringent austerities until, near death from weakness
and starvation, his inner voice told him that this was
not the pathway to truth, that maltreating the body would
avail nothing. Henceforth he would follow a middle course
between extremes.
At length, after many tests of his resolve, on a full moon
night of May he vowed not to move until he had attained
bodhi, ‘‘wisdom, enlightenment.’’ Sitting under a tree —
since called the Bo or Bodhi tree — he withdrew into the
inmost essence of his being. Māra, personification of destruction,
tried repeatedly to deflect him, but Gautama
was resolute and repelled every attack. When the moment
of supreme illumination would be his, Māra summoned
his minions for a tremendous final onslaught, but Gautama
remained unmoved. Triumphant, he was buddha,
‘‘enlightened.’’
For 49 days he enjoyed the fullness of emancipation:
omniscience and utter bliss were his for the taking. But
instead of entering nirvana, his heart looked back upon
sorrowing humankind and, perceiving with clarity the
cause of man’s confusion and the way to dispel it, he knew
he must return. He would teach the Four Noble Truths
and the Exalted Eightfold Path. Then a fleeting doubt entered
his soul. Why give these priceless truths, so hard